Monday, December 1st, 2008
So here I am on my beloved couch. The tour is finally over. I feel a lot of different things right now. Happiness, sadness and restlessness to name a few. But he overwhelming feeling is gratitude. It was just a year and a half ago that I was talking to my manager about playing solo shows in 2008. And here I am on the other side of 30+ concerts. So many people came out and lent their ears to songs that I’ve written on this exact couch. Lots of people drove hours and hours to see a concert that they’ve never seen before. I am grateful. I couldn’t have anticipated a better experience. I want to thank everyone who came out for making this year so incredible for me. There’s nothing that feels quite like singing and playing in front of people and all of you have taken that to a new level for me. I hope everyone had a good time and I can’t wait to do it again either with my solo group or Incubus. I plan to keep writing here so check in with me when you can and I’ll try to keep it clean. And next time you’re on your couch relaxing take an extra moment and enjoy it for the musicians who give up that solace and get the show on the road.
With love,
-Ben “Billy D Williams Jr” Kenney
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Well, we’re almost at the finish line for this tour. It actually makes me a bit sad. This was a heavy experience. I brought some of my music to a lot of new places, each one a unique and unpredictable experience. There were places where little crowds made it feel like we were rocking out to a sold out stadium. There were places where old friends came to show that they’re still listening. There were people all along the way who were willing to lend an ear for the first time. I’m so grateful for that. Last night we had a strange gig in Vegas. But everything in Vegas is a bit strange to me. I was having a hard time with my voice after all this traveling and the smoke in the club was salt in the wound. But it’ll be great to come back to San Diego tonight. I felt a lot of love when we did our show here back in January. And tomorrow night is the icing on the cake. The Hollywood House of Blues is one of my all time favorite places to play. I don’t think I’ve been on that stage since 2002 with the Roots. I’m really looking forward to it. Here’s a couple of photos Tiffany Williams took in Northampton MA:
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
The last few shows have been special. To our surprise a very small crowd in Portland Maine turned out to be one of the most energetic so far. And last night in Jersey was great. There were a lot of people crammed into a small room and everyone was rocking out. I had the chance to see a lot of old friends and I got to meet some new ones too. Ashley commented on how NJ people can really come together as one when you least expect it. I was feeling the effect of that last night. Since then, Namit and Dominic drove through the night during a massive snow storm to Cleveland Ohio. Now, if you’ve never been to Cleveland then you might not understand how hard it can rock. And if you’ve been to a show out here then you’ll understand that tonight we have work to do. I think we’re up for the challenge.
Friday, November 14th, 2008
It’s been a minute since I wrote something. It’s hard to keep up on tour. A lot has happened and a lot is happening still. We cancelled a show. That was pretty weak. I’ve been fighting off a sore throat since Pittsburgh and it got the best of me a few days ago. But I managed to get back on it and the last few shows were really fun. New York is always a different experience than anywhere else. Single shows in NYC seem to be their own tour by themselves. I guess a lot has to do with the amount of things that can happen in one day in New York. It’s unbelievable. Now we’re up in Northampton about to go over to soundcheck. I’ve never seen more “Hillary for President” bumper stickers in my life. But I digress. It’s Friday night and I’m feeling alright.
Saturday, November 8th, 2008
The last two nights were fresh. Thursday we played autside of detriot. The show got moved from a smaller venue to a bigger spot due to some electrical issues but everything turned out okay. We had a good time. Last night in Pittsburgh was the surprise show though. The club had some strange teenage-goth-rave thing scheduled after out show so we had to run the hurry up offense and cut some stuff out of the set. Nonetheless, the crowd was rowdy as hell and everything felt good on stage. As soon as we were done the entire cast of the Michael Jackson “Thriller” video came through the doors and it was time to break out. But overall, both the venue and the audience were better than we expected and we were psyched last night. Good times with a terrible towel. Now off to D.C. I need to scope it out and make sure it’s cool for my boy Barack before he gets there. And now some photos from the Austin show a few days back. Thanks to Melissa Garcia for the shots.
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
I don’t even know where to begin. It’s Thursday and this week feels like it’s been a few years long. Let’s start with Obama. With the exception of a few of my neighbors, everyone I know is feeling excited and looking toward the future. I can’t remember a time in my life where so many people felt so positive. And it’s worldwide. People I’ve met from all over are sharing this feeling. I, like so many other Americans, feel a sense of pride in our country that has been hard to feel recently. I want to see it continue. And I love feeling like the America I was taught about as a child still exists. Okay. Now let’s talk about Texas. You Texans are nuts. It’s one of the few places I’ve ever been where 150 people in a room can be louder than 10,000 in an arena. I seriously think I damaged my right ear in Austin. You guys were screaming so loud at the show. It was insane. I’m really happy everyone came out and I’m psyched to have had the chance to come down there with my little song and dance. It was beyond worth it. Oh, and next time I come to Austin I’ll need a tour guide for the Whole Foods down there. I never thought it possible to fill a place larger than a Super Wal Mart with overpriced organic hippie swag. But as it’s been said many times, many ways, everything’s big in Texas. Since our Dallas/Austin adventure we’ve driven up to Detroit. It was not a short drive. Namit must have done 60-70% of the driving himself while Ashley and myself worked on new ways to insult each other in public. I wish we could have spent some time in Kentucky. The trees are currently changing color and it looks like a Bob Ross painting. That is, without the signature big ass picture wrecking tree slicing down the middle.
Saturday, November 1st, 2008
We’ve made it to Dallas. For those of you who may not know, it’s pretty f****n far from California and takes a long time to drive. But we’re here. I’m beginning to get excited about tomorrow night. My mind hasn’t really been on it but now we’re at the point of no return and it’s about to be on.
Vote for me. Save the whales. Write to your local assemblyman. Hug an alpaca. Drink sprite. Call you mother. She’s probably worried about you.
Friday, October 31st, 2008
The van is all packed up and all that’s left to do now is attempt to get 4 or 5 hours of sleep. My mind has been operating in a way that is not very human for the past 24 hours. Guitar strings, clean underwear, camera film, getting rid of that buzz on the 3rd fret, lunch?, gaffers tape, back ups for the back ups, everything except emotions and sentiment. There’s no time for that tonight but plenty of time on tomorrow’s ride. Book, yes, books! I need to bring books. At least 2, no more than 3.5. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. It will have to wait… or be left behind.
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
hark word
